Hamas to force Israel to ‘crawl to retrieve hostages’: Ex-general

By Khaled Yousef and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM (AA) – The former head of Israel’s National Security Council criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, saying Hamas will force Israelis to “crawl to retrieve their hostages.”

"Netanyahu's claims of achieving absolute victory have not materialized," Giora Eiland, a retired general, said in an article published by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“These statements should mean imposing the Israeli will on Hamas unconditionally, which has not happened."

Eiland is the mastermind of the so-called “Generals’ Plan,” which calls for forcibly displacing Palestinians from northern Gaza and turning the area into a buffer zone.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Monday that it would delay the next hostage release in response to Israeli violations of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Local Palestinian authorities have listed a series of Israeli violations of the deal, including the shooting of civilians and denying access to relief materials, including tents and caravans for displaced civilians in Gaza.

Eiland said Hamas’ decision to delay the hostage release reflects “the real balance of power” between the Palestinian group and Israel.

"Hamas, with this announcement, will force us to crawl to retrieve the hostages," he added.

"Israel has failed to achieve most of its war objectives in Gaza and has only succeeded in bringing back some of the hostages," Eiland said, adding that Israel has also failed to eliminate Hamas’ capabilities.

Hamas “achieved all its goals, including staying in power in Gaza, while Israel failed to accomplish its war objectives in the Strip,” he said.

The three-phase ceasefire deal has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 people and left the enclave in ruins.

Sixteen Israelis and five Thai workers have so far been released by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails under the first phase of the agreement.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.